Camping – ON THE ROAD with Maria + Stephen

Arizona: Superior to Duncan-Copper, Cotton, Breathtaking Views and Western Hospitality

22/05/202522/05/2025 by Maria+Stephen, posted in Adventure Van Travel, Camping, Coffee, Copper Mining, The American West, Travel

***Picketpost Mountain, Route 60, Kearny, Arizona (4377′)***

This segment of our adventure took us from the Phoenix area across the Sonoran Desert towards the New Mexico border. We headed out toward Superior through a visually jarring landscape, although we were traveling just 65 miles east of Phoenix. We passed through a string of mining towns with their unearthly landscapes, the desolate San Carlos Reservation, the riparian Gila River Valley, the Pinal Mountains and finally, the most impressive Pinaleno Mountains.

SUPERIOR(FOUNDED 1882, POP. 2571, ELEV. 2,888′)

The town of Superior was the first of the mining or former mining towns on this trek. The town was formed in 1875 with the discovery of rich veins of silver resulting in the creation of the Silver King Mine. The silver market crashed within several years, but fortunately for the town folks, copper was discovered and the boom was on again. The Magma Copper Company operated from 1914 to 1996. Back to the bust portion of the program.

Today, the town with its proximity to Phoenix, beautiful scenery, bountiful hiking, rock climbing opportunities and the botanical garden is in the process of becoming discovered.

We stopped in Superior at the Circle K for fuel and firewood before heading up through the Queen Creek Canyon to look for a camping spot in the Oak Flat Recreation Area a few miles east of Superior.

The following morning we drove back down through the spectacular Queen Creek Canyon into Superior. First order of business, as always, was coffee and tea. Bellas Cafe appeared as if on cue immediately after we turned the corner on to Main Street. One of the employees we met is a musician and he and his band have played many venues in New Haven.

We fueled up and then wandered around town for a bit. Main Street and the two side streets are not yet entirely occupied, but enough so that town is lively with shops, restaurants, saloons and even a wine bar!

We met one of the artists of the mural below, he owns the building with the courtyard pictured below. He has moved to Superior from Los Angeles and is converting the building (formerly a bar/restaurant) to an art gallery. Bring on the tourists!

BOYCE THOMPSON ARBORETUM (BTA)

After exploring Superior we drove east a couple of miles to visit the BTA. The BTA was founded by Colonel William Boyce Thompson. The Colonel was at the time the owner of the Magma Copper Company in Superior and had built a winter home there in the early 1920’s, Picket Post House. In 1924, Boyce Thompson built the arboretum on 400 acres around Picket Post House. He was an interesting character (click on the link above to read more about Colonel Boyce as well as the BTA).

The BTA covers 372 acres with collections of desert plants from around the world. The collections from diverse desert locations provided us with the opportunity to see desert plants not naturally found in the United States-quite interesting. The arboretum also has five miles of hiking trails which gave us the opportunity to hike up a trail which provided views of the canyon and surrounding mountains. If you ever find yourself in Superior we recommend a visit to the BTA (not so much in the summer). After we finished our visit at BTA we stopped back in Superior for lunch at the Silver King Smokehouse and Saloon.

MIAMI(FOUNDED 1876, POP. 1528, ELEV. 3402′)

From Superior we continued east on U.S. Highway 60 which is still intact in Arizona ( Highway 60 at one point ran from Los Angeles, California to Virginia Beach, Virginia) with a plan to find camping east of Globe in the Pinal Mountains.

***Miami Copper Mine and Town of Miami, Arizona***
***(Photos above and below courtesy of Arizona Memory Project)***

We were not planning on stopping in Miami (this link has an excellent photo gallery of Miami and the smelter) but we were dumbfounded by the size of the mining operations and how the town itself is jammed onto the hills at the base of the mine and across the other side of U.S. 60. So, we found ourselves driving back and forth through town to take in the (to us) surreal scenery. This mine is one of five open pit copper mines in Arizona operated by Freeport-McMoRan (more on that later).

GLOBE(FOUNDED 1876, POP. 7179, ELEV. 3510′)

Globe is one of the communities along our route east which is in the category of former mining towns. The Old Dominion Mining Company produced copper here for 50 years. The mine had weathered a violent strike in 1917 and reopened in 1919 but only lasted another twelve years as the mine was in poor repair and the shafts were filling with water.

After a slow cruise through downtown Globe (and finding nothing open) we navigated to FR 112 to find a camping spot in the Pinal Mountains.

FR 112, Pinal Mountains, Globe, Arizona

Since we could see that Pinal Peak (7800′) was still covered in snow, we had no illusions that we would make it all the way to the peak. We had pulled off into a layby as the road is a single lane and there was a vehicle coming down (downhill has right of way). He reported through the open passenger window of his mud spattered pickup that conditions at the top were too muddy for our tires We took his word at face value and camped in the layby. No fools, us!

We awoke to a beautiful morning and began the trek back down the mountain to travel east to the town of Safford. If you watch the video below to the end you will see a herd of Javalina crossing the road.

Once we reached pavement we followed Highway 70 east through the San Carlos Reservation and then traveled along the Gila River to Safford.

SAN CARLOS RESERVATION (FOUNDED 1871, POP. 10,000′)

The San Carlos Reservation was established in 1871 and is home to the San Carlos Apache Tribe. The original inhabitants of the reservation were the Chiricahua Apache tribe; they were joined by members of other tribes soon after. The federal government closed the Camp Verde Reservation in 1875 and force marched the Yavapai 180 miles to the San Carlos Reservation. Of the 1400 marched to San Carlos, 375 died en route to their new “home”. Over time the reservation became a consolidation point for a number of different Apache speaking tribes. To make room for the new residents the federal government thoughtfully transported the original Chiricahua Apaches to Florida in 1886.

***Apaches Waiting for Rations at San Carlos Reservation (Photos above and below courtesy of Arizona Memory Project)***

Today approximately 10,000 of 16,000 tribal members live on the reservation. The reservation was federally recognized in 1934 and encompasses 1.8 million acres (3000 sq. miles). About thirty percent of the members live in San Carlos and the remainder in several other tiny settlements along Highway 70.

Economically, the San Carlos members seem to be worse off than many other reservations. There is, of course, a casino (two in fact) but beyond that there is little industry other than revenue generated from recreation and wildlife permits and a handful of small Peridot mines (open to tribal members only). 49% of the population lives below the poverty line and 36% of working age members are unemployed.

safford(pop. 10,700, elev. 2920′)

Safford was by far the biggest town by population on our route, with almost 11,000 people. The portion of Highway 70 in Safford is lined with the usual “civi town” suspects – fast food chains, Walmart, Home Depot, etc. Fortunately, one block off of the 70, Main Street is intact with local retailers, restaurants and, most importantly, coffee (Ginaveve’s). During our walk around town we also happened upon the local insurance agency, where the big red umbrella is prominently on display.

Agriculture is the primary industry in Safford. The main crop is cotton, which was introduced into the area by Mormon settlers during the 1870s. You are probably familiar with Pima cotton which comes from the fertile soil in the Gila Valley. Latter Day Saints remain influential in the area – about one third of the population is LDS.

From an employment standpoint, many of the residents work in the two mines north of town; the nearby state and federal prisons are also significant employers.

The main attraction for us in stopping in Safford was the opportunity to drive the Swift Trail which winds up over 7000 feet through the Pinaleno Mountains to Mount Graham (10,696′). The trail is paved for the first 22 miles and dirt the final 13 miles.

***Swift Trail, Coronado National Forest, Safford Arizona***

Climbing Swift Trail

The upper elevations of the Pinaleno Mountains are heavily pine forested. So, when Mormon farmers arrived in the late 1800, the trail was built as a wagon route for lumber needed by the farmers and later for the mining operations that were opened in the early 1900s.

The views were as breathtaking as advertised! The drive itself was fun as we navigated the seemingly unending switchbacks that lead around the mountains and eventually up to the top. Once at the top we could see why the Western Apache considered Mount Graham (Dzil Nchaa Si’an) a sacred place. As is often the case, the Native Americans were removed and placed on reservations so that our extraction of natural resources could continue unabated. Fortunately, for all of us, this land is now protected as part of the Coronado National Forest.

***Sulphur Springs Valley – Winchester Mountains***

Descending Swift Trail

After descending the trail we camped at the base, which afforded us an evening soaking in panoramic views of the snowcapped mountain range – mesmerizing – nature never disappoints!

In the morning we grabbed coffee and tea at Ginaveve’s and set out to hike along the Gila River within the Gila Box Riparian National Conservation Area. The Gila is a 649 mile long tributary of the Colorado and flows all year through the section within the conversation area creating this green strip through the desert. Below this area the Gila and its tributaries are damed several times. By the time the river reaches the Phoenix area it is usually just a dry wash.

After hiking along several sections of the Gila, we returned to the Beast and made our way back to Highway 70 (The Old West Highway) to make the short drive east to Duncan. The Gila River loops north from where we hiked but we rejoined the river in Duncan. Duncan sits within the Duncan Valley and is another agricultural hub in an otherwise barren land. Duncan, like Safford, is a cotton producer. Cattle ranching and copper mining (about 40 miles north is the largest open pit copper mine in North America) are also found in and around Duncan-three of the Five Cs of Arizona – Copper, Cotton and Cattle – the other two being climate and citrus.

DUNCAn(FOUNDED 1883, POP. 879, elev. 3400′)

We had read about the Simpson Hotel and it sounded charming (it is – subject to liking cats- which we do) and the location in Duncan was perfect for kicking off our final segment in Arizona (Coronado Trail Scenic Road). The link to the hotel website (above) is a treasure trove of interesting information and worth a look.

The original hotel opened in 1914 as the Hotel Hobbs. Subsequently, the property was owned and operated by several different families. The current innkeepers, Clayton Jarvis and Deborah Mendelsohn began renovations in January of 2006 and opened in May of 2007 after 18 months of demolition and renovation. Deborah and Clayton are wonderful hosts adding to the charm of this classic territorial building’s exterior and art gallery interior. Clayton is an accomplished artist and has a studio in the courtyard behind the hotel. We completed our stay with a pizza pie to go from Humble Pie which conveniently sits about 200 feet up Main Street from the Simpson.

This is our post covering the Superior to Duncan segment of OTR 11.0, our penultimate segment in Arizona. We hope you found it interesting.

Be seeing you!

Apache Trail to Mogollon Rim-Desert to Pine Forests

05/05/202507/05/2025 by Maria+Stephen, posted in 4WD Drive, Adventure Van Travel, Architecture, Camping, Coffee, Scenic Drive, Travel

The Apache Trail begins in Apache Junction, Arizona on the eastern edge of Phoenix and winds northeastward to the Roosevelt Dam. The trail begins as a two lane paved highway (SR 88) and becomes dirt at mile 22 (which is when the fun begins)! The scenery along the route is legendary and with good reason. This byway takes you up and over peaks and down deep into canyons providing massively gorgeous views of the Superstition Mountains and two lakes along the way.

Our first stop was at Canyon Lake, one of four reservoirs created by damming the once mighty Salt River. The Mormon Lake Dam was completed in 1925 and was the third lake to be created by damming the river. It is the smallest of the lakes at 950 acres. The average depth of Canyon Lake is 130 feet (no kayaking for us – we prefer knee deep). All of the reservoirs created by the Salt River Project are recreational – allowing boating, water sports and fishing.

***Mormon Flat Bridge (built 1924), SR88, Willow Creek***

At pavement’s end, we began the exciting drive down to the Fish Creek Canyon bottom. It is incredible to think that this was once a stagecoach route (we saw several sites where cars went over the side – maybe the stagecoach was actually safer)! We have included two videos below to provide a sense of the drive down.

After following the Lewis and Pranty Creek for several miles, the road angles in a more northerly direction and we began to climb out of the canyon and got our first views of Apache Lake.

Apache Lake is the second largest of the four lakes created by damming. The lake was created by the completion of the Horse Mesa Dam. The dam (660 foot long and 300 feet high) is a hydroelectric generating station capable of producing 129 megawatts of electricity. The energy from here helps power the Phoenix metropolitan area.

***Downstream View – Horse Mesa Dam*** ***(Photo courtesy of Mark Durben)***

The final dam along the Apache Trail is the Theodore Roosevelt Lake Dam named after (two guesses only please) a former president. The original dam was completed in 1911, after six years of construction. While it also generates electricity (since the 1996 modernization) it’s primary purpose was to contain water for irrigation in what was arid desert.

Theodore Roosevelt Lake Dam

The dam created the largest lake in Arizona. The resulting lake is over 20 miles long and can store as much as 2.9 million acre-feet of water (one acre foot of water equals 325,000 gallons). We didn’t do the math but we are pretty sure it is a lot of water!

The Theodore Roosevelt (that name again) Bridge is a beauty. The bridge was completed in 1990. The bridge is the longest single span bridge in North America at 1080 feet. Before the bridge was completed, the only way north was to drive over the dam (sorry we missed that experience).

***Theodore Roosevelt Lake – Sierra Ancha*** ***Mountains***

After crossing the bridge we followed the western shore of the lake north on SR 188. We found a lovely spot to camp on the beach and enjoyed a cool but beautiful evening. Our site allowed a panoramic view of the Sierra Ancha across the lake to our east and the snow capped Mazatzal Mountains to our west. Quite spectacular, if we’re honest!

In the morning we broke camp and traveled further north looking for coffee before venturing up to the Mogollon Rim. Along the way we drove through our favorite named community of this trip – Punkin Center – which is one of a handful of census designated places in the Tonto Basin. We couldn’t find a population statistic anywhere or any obvious reason for it’s existence, but how can you not like a place called Punkin Center where the main attraction is the bar!

***Punkin Center Bar, Punkin Center, Arizona***

We found coffee at Common Grounds in Payson. Our barista and her younger brother requested a tour of the Beast and while we were chatting provided us with a number of hiking opportunities nearby. Thank you!

Payson (population 16,000) was founded by gold miners in the early 1880s, but it is timber and cattle that sustained this area. During prohibition the town’s extremely remote location fostered the manufacture of moonshine with 30-40 stills scattered around the area. The moonshine from Payson was known as “Payson Dew“.

***(Photo courtesy of Northern Gila County Historical Society)***

Payson sits at an elevation of 5,000 feet and offers a multitude of recreational opportunities in the surrounding Tonto National Forest, making it a popular spot for Phoenicians during the summer months.

In addition to a coffee stop, Payson was our starting point for accessing the Mogollon (mug-e-YOHN) Rim which forms the southern edge of the massive Colorado Plateau.

Our timing in exploring central and northern Arizona was once again accompanied by a snow storm in the mountains. Mother Nature obviously didn’t get the memo that we were coming! After checking with the Forest Service and confirming that the Rim Road was open albeit a bit muddy, we fired up the Beast.

The Mogollon Rim (MR) is 200 miles long, extending from Flagstaff to the New Mexico border.The elevation ranges between 7000 and 8000 feet above sea level. The MR is an escarpment which delineates the pine forests and the Sonoran Desert to the south. It was fascinating to see how the landscape changed so rapidly as we climbed from the desert floor into higher elevation – desert vegetation to pine forests in just a matter of a couple thousand feet of elevation gain.

We spent the afternoon taking in the views from the MR and eventually turned around to begin our descent. As often happens after an afternoon of taking in beautiful views and scenery we found ourselves feeling a bit peckish. We stopped at That Brewery in Pine for a late lunch/early dinner or what we call it when we are on the road – a lundin.

After our delish burgers and cocktails we got on the road southward and began to look for a camping spot between Pine and Phoenix. Our ride was interrupted by an Arizona State Trooper who claimed we did not have a license plate. We do, of course, have a license plate – the trooper just did not know where to look on the van. Okay, our bad, our firewood bag had shifted downward and obscured the plate. After a friendly verbal and written warning (and rehanging the bag) we were again on our way south.

***Log Corral Canyon***, ***Tonto National Forest***

We found a secluded spot to camp not to far off our route south to Phoenix. One of the delightful parts of traveling in the west is that there are almost endless opportunities for secluded and scenic camping that require no fees or reservations. As an example, the Log Corral Canyon where we camped that evening is within the Tonto National Forest which stretches from the MR to the Sonoran Desert (2.9 million acres).

In the morning we returned to Phoenix for two nights and some additional bike riding (and excellent coffee at Peixeto (pay-shay-tow).

After our second stay in Phoenix we again set out for northern Arizona. Our first stop was the town of Prescott (press-kit). We had never visited but had read many wonderful reviews of the town and a number of Arizonians we met during this trip had also highly recommended we go.

Our secondary motivation for visiting Prescott was to stay at the Hassayampa Inn. The inn opened in 1927 to provide lodging for the growing number of tourists who had discovered the charms of this former mining and logging town. The inn was designed by our favorite hotel architect Henry Trost. The bottom right photo shows the original and still operational elevator.

By the time we arrived at the hotel it was snowing ( Prescott elevation 5300 feet). We were tucked in nice and cosy at the inn, so a bit of snow was not a concern for us as we had booked two nights. Excellent restaurant, outstanding cocktails in front of the fireplace in the beautiful Trost lobby and fantastic coffee a short walk down the street. Yippee Ki Aye!

***Merchant Coffee, Prescott, Arizona***

However, our plans to continue north hit a snag when we learned the road north was closed due the weather and that Sedona and Flagstaff were a mess. Flagstaff had received over 20 inches of snow and the temperatures were remaining bitterly cold. Not why we had come to Arizona! Once again, time to revise our itinerary – ah, life on the road.

Realizing that exiting Arizona to the north was not meant to be, we decided to head to Southeastern Arizona where the forecasted weather looked delightful (see photo below).

***Pickpocket Mountain, Route 60, Kearny, Arizona***

Be seeing you!

El Camino del Diablo – The Devil’s Road

07/04/202502/05/2025 by Maria+Stephen, posted in 4WD Drive, Adventure Van Travel, Camping, Overlanding, Scenic Drive, The American West, Travel

***El Camino del Diablo, Sonoran Desert, Arizona***

We departed Tucson (future post) on a southwesterly course heading for Ajo Townsite. The journey took us through the large and mostly desolate Tohono O’Odham Nation. The reservation is about the size of Connecticut with an on reservation population of approximately 9000 members. There are 28,000 enrolled members of the tribe. The Tohono O’odham Nation sits on both sides of the U.S./Mexico border.

Ajo has been the site of copper mining since the 1840’s. Copper has been extracted by Native American, Spanish and Euro-Americans. By the early 1900’s the production of copper in Ajo caught the attention of Phelps Dodge, the largest copper mining company in the United States. Phelps purchased the mine in 1921 and continued to operate the mine until 1985. During those years the mine employed several thousand people and the town boomed. An employee strike in 1983 ultimately led to the permanent closure of the mine in 1985 . Today, all that remains is a very large pit just outside of the town center.

The town’s attractive square and architecture was built by Phelps Dodge to make working and living in town more appealing. The year round population in Ajo is 3300. The town has become a popular snowbird destination during the winter due to the delightful weather. There is also a small artist colony living and working here.

The photos below are two notable murals that have been painted in Ajo since our last visit.

We decided to camp and relax for several days in an area of the desert south of Ajo known as Darby Well.

On our second day of camping at Darby Well we drove south on Route 85 to visit the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (OPCNM). After stopping at the visitor center and speaking with the rangers we opted to drive the Ajo Mountain Loop as the best way to take in the OPCNM in an afternoon.

Ajo Mountain Road, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

The Ajo Mountain Loop is a 21 mile road which provides a great sample of the variety of terrain and vegetation in the monument. The loop starts on the desert floor and winds up into the Ajo Mountains. We took a short hike into the Estes Canyon (photos below -note the arch in the photo directly below).

OPCNM does not receive many visitors relative to other National Monuments and National Parks. The remote location, extreme weather (heat) and proximity to the Mexico border are all contributing factors.

https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2017/09/organ-pipe-cactus-sonoran-desert-treasure

https://www.nps.gov/orpi/planyourvisit/basicinfo.htm

After several days camping in the Darby Well and our visit to OPCNM we decided we were ready to tackle the El Camino. The El Camino is a 142 mile trail through the Southern Sonoran Desert. It starts south of Ajo from the Darby Well Road and then follows an east/west route through a portion of the Organ Pipe Cactus NM, the Cabeza Prieta NWR and finally the Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range.

This overland adventure does come with risks. One of the risks is captured in the photo directly above. The other risks are inherent in any extended overland trip – adequate fuel and water, mechanical breakdown, flat tire and, finally, getting stuck in sand or mud. Fortunately, other than a damaged bike carrier and the obligatory addition of more desert pinstriping we did not have any issues.

Our first stop was at the Bates Well Ranch which was owned and operated by the Gray family from 1935 until 1976. The operation consisted of 15 cattle ranches and line camps across the Southern Sonoran Desert.

The ranch is inside the boundaries of the OPCNM. The National Monument was established in 1937 but the Gray family was allowed to continue to ranch the land (many national parks consist of land appropriated from private owners). The National Park Service does not allow cattle grazing but in this case made an exception. Harry Gray, the last member of the family made maximum use of the “exception” raising cattle on the ranch until his death in 1976.

The one advantage of the ranch property becoming public land is that is protected and overseen by the park service. Much of the property is intact and provides a great example of a frontier ranch.

We pushed on from the Bates Well past the Camp Grip Border Patrol Outpost where we could see four border patrollers on a hill scanning southward with their binoculars while the electronic gear above them whirred away.

The next section of the trail brought us into the Pinta Sands. The Sands area was undoubtedly the most enjoyable segment of the trip from a pure driving perspective. Soft sand —deep but not too deep—smooth riding and higher speeds!

Prietza National Wildlife Refuge, El Camino del Diablo

From the Pinta Sands we transitioned to a dramatically rougher environment as we began transiting through the Pinacate Lava Flow. We decided that this area would be good for camping as it was reasonably level and provided a 360 degree view of the surrounding mountains and unobstructed views for stargazing.

Pinacate Volcanic Field

On day two, we continued west until we arrived at the site of the Tule Well. In the 1840s many Mexicans from the state of Sonora were traveling north to work the gold diggings on the Colorado River. One of them decided to dig a well (by hand) and to sell the water to his fellow countrymen as they traveled north. Some accounts claim that the well digger was killed by a traveler who refused to pay for the water. The well fell into disuse between the 1860s and 1890s as this route was all but abandoned due the frequency of deaths from dehydration.

After visiting the Tule Well and the Circle 8 Gravesite we continued west towards the Tinjas Atlas Mountains. We were hoping to follow a trail that would lead us to the remains of the Fortuna Mine. As you can see from the video below this area has numerous narrow washes. Ultimately, we were foiled by a wash too deep and steep for the Beast.

Tinjas Atlas

We worked our way back until we found a route that took us in a northeasterly direction to the town of Wellton. This route took us through the Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range. It is most advisable to stay on the road if you choose this route as it is an active military gunnery and bombing range! Fortunately, we had obtained the necessary permit and pass to transit through the range.

We exited the desert in Wellton driving through the encroaching housing subdivisions spreading east from Yuma. We spent the evening in Yuma; in the morning , we decided to head back out into the Sonoran Desert and visit the Fortuna Mine using a route from Yuma. The road out from Yuma was extremely rough and rocky but were committed to going out to the mine as part of our completion of the El Camino del Diablo.

As so often appears to be the case, gold was discovered accidentally – in this case by three men looking for stray cattle in the foothills of the Gila Mountains in 1894. They filed land claims and gold was mined here from 1896 to 1904. The story of Fortuna is similar to many of the old west mining scenarios – boom and then quickly bust. The mine was productive – producing 125,000 ounces of recorded gold during its short run. The vertical shafts are still visible (photo below). The remnants of the town that quickly blossomed above the mine are still accessible by foot.

One other item that we wanted to share relates to the photo below. Periodically as we crossed the desert we would see blue flags placed within sight of the trail. The blue flags are on 30 foot high poles so that they are visible from a great distance. At each of these sites there is a 55 gallon drum of potable water. These drums are placed and maintained by an organization called Humane Borders. The organization has obtained permission to place the water drums along the border (the El Camino is within sight of the border for much of the route). You may read about the Humane Borders organization in the article linked below.

https://www.humaneborders.org/

Our two day journey across El Camino del Diablo was an exciting adventure. This is a trip we have wanted to do for some time and we recognized that in the context of our OTR story arc this was the time to make the crossing. There is a point where the physical rigors of this trip would be beyond our capability.

After resting for a couple days in Yuma we will be heading north to explore the Northern Sonoran Desert and the KOFA National Wildlife Refuge.

Be seeing you!

Pancho Villa Visits New Mexico and OTR Visits Old Mexico

06/03/2025 by Maria+Stephen, posted in Camping, Foreign Travel, Museum, The American West, Travel, Western history

Geronimo Trail Scenic Byway

24/02/2025 by Maria+Stephen, posted in 4WD Drive, Adventure Van Travel, Camping, Museum, New Mexico, Scenic Drive, Travel

Unama’ki or Isle du Cap-Breton or Eilean Cheap Bhreatainn or Cape Breton

09/08/202405/09/2024 by Maria+Stephen, posted in 4WD Drive, Bike Trails, Camping, Hiking, Live Music, Travel

After departing Broad Cove we followed the Cabot Trail (CT) west along the northern perimeter of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park (CBHNP). This route took us up into the heart of the highlands and then back down along the western slope where the highlands meet the North Atlantic. As always, lots of spectacular scenery and driving.

Cabot Trail, Petit Etang

Along the way we stopped to hike the Skyline Trail, considered one of the best hikes in CBHNP. The trail leads out to cliffs providing dramatic views of the mountainous coastline and the ocean below. Although the weather began closing in during our hike, we were still able to see for several miles up and down the coast.

From the Skyline Trail we journeyed south on the CT to the Acadian community of Cheticamp. We had booked an AirBnb for two nights with a deck overlooking the harbour. Unfortunately, the rain moved in that evening squashing our plans for cocktails and nibbles on the deck (rough, eh?). We made the best of it— washed our laundry and got a good night’s sleep.

The next morning was still drizzly, so feeling chipper after a hot shower and wearing freshly laundered duds, we set off for coffee at Marguerite Boutique et Provisions. In the ‘it’s a small world’ category, we met a retired long-haul truck driver (J.P. — Jean Paul) who had lived in Meriden (our home base) for several years-and-a young man from Hamden, Connecticut (on a two year solo journey). We also met some folks from California and New Hampshire — all in all, an enjoyable fika segment!

https://www.boutiquemarguerite.com

After fika we poked around town a bit before returning to our our cottage for an afternoon lie down — perfetto on a rainy gray day. We capped off the day with a delicious dinner at L’abrie Restaurant, Cafe et Bar. This restaurant was recommended to us by our barista at the Periwinkle Cafe in Ingonish —thank you very much!

L’abrie is owned by the same partners that own Marguerite. You can read more about the partners, their mission and the restaurant by clicking on the link below.

https://www.labri.cafe/

***Cheticamp (Photo courtesy of Societe Saint-Pie*****rre)**

Chéticamp is an Acadian region on the shores of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, on the western slope of Cape Breton Highlands in Nova Scotia. It is located between Cape Breton Highlands National Park to the north and Grand-Étang and Montagne des Écureuils to the south. These magnificent sites stretch for many kilometres along the Cabot Trail. It’s settlement began in the decade following the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1763, ending the Seven Years’ War between France and Great Britain. Chéticamp takes its name from a Mi’kmaq expression meaning “rarely full”, presumably in reference to Petit Étang (small pond) in La Prairie (the prairie) near Buttereau at the foot of Grande Falaise (big cliff) in the estuary of the Chéticamp River. All these names are the legacy of a rich heritage in the heart of a landscape where wild habitats and the sea merge with extraordinary beauty.

Learn more about the fascinating history of Acadian communities around the world at: acadie-on-the-roads-of-the-acadian-people-map-articles-and-references-about-the-acadian-communities

We departed Cheticamp traveling along the coast on the CT through the scenic villages of Grand Etang and Margaree Harbour. At Margaree Harbour we said our final farewell to the CT and our widdershins loop of CB. From there we followed Route 219 to Southwest Margaree, then we veered inland to explore some of the interior of Cape Breton in the distinctly Scottish heritage area around Lake Ainslie.

The photos above are from the MacDonald Farm in East Lake Ainslie – now operated as a museum by the local historical society. Alexander MacDonald emigrated from the Isle of Mull, Scotland in 1823 – receiving a land grant of 518 acres. His son Charles started the first mercantile in the area in 1848 and built the present house during the 1850s. He also established the first post office in 1876 – Charles also being the first postmaster. The post office operated until 1956!

After exploring the farm we pressed on further into the interior on what appeared to be logging roads which eventually gave way to farmland.

East Lake Ainslie, Cape Breton

Much to our surprise and pleasure, after cresting a rise in the road, we found ourselves staring at a bright red building housing the Skye Glen Creamery! We crossed our fingers in hopes that the creamery was open. Fortunately, we had chanced upon the creamery a few minutes before closing and we met one of the owners, Meghan. She and her husband bought the dairy farm (jersey cows) in 2020 and opened the creamery soon after – lucky us! We bought cheese and delicious chocolate gelato. What a tasty way to finish a ramble.

***Meghan, Matt, Sophie, and Heidi (Photo courtesy of Skye Glen Creamery)***

From the creamery we found our way to pavement and to the settlement of Mabou (Mi’kmaq for place where two rivers meet). Mabou was a definite on our itinerary due to its proximity to the Celtic Shores Coastal Bicycle Trail and the Red Shoe Pub. We checked in at the Mabou River Inn and then made the short trip across the river into town to dine and enjoy live music at the Pub.

The pub is owned by the Rankin Sisters, members of the multi-award winning Rankin Family musical group. The first generation of Rankins began performing during the 1970s. The Rankin family hails from Mabou and it is a big deal when the sisters drop in to perform at the pub. The pub boasts live music everyday and we were fortunate to hear the Campbell Sisters perform on the evening we dined at the pub.

https://www.redshoepub.com

American Loyalists were the first to settle in Mabou during the 1700s (as usual, if you exclude First Nations). The Loyalists were followed by British and Irish settlers but it was the Highland Scots that came to the forefront during the first half of the 1800s (emigrating as a result of the Highland Clearances). While fishing has always been part of the economy along with agriculture, a notable economic driver in Mabou and Inverness County was mining coal and gypsum. Coal mining persisted into the 1960s but was never successful on a large scale because the coal was under the ocean floor and was prone to flooding (not taking that mine tour!)The bike trail that we were looking forward to riding came about because of the abandonment of the rail line (I&R Railroad) as mining wound down.

We set out the following morning to bike the Celtic Shores Coastal Trail (CSCT) from the Mabou Rivers trailhead north to Inverness (and back). The trail is 57 miles one way – our ride from Mabou Rivers to Inverness and back was approximately 34 miles. Inverness is the northern terminus of the trail and sits right on the ocean.

***St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church (background) Mabou River (foreground)***

The trail is not paved but for the most part is smooth hard-pack and level. We chose this portion because segments to the south are quite windy making the riding difficult from both a wind and trail erosion perspective. The trail has very few road crossings (always a plus) and we only encountered one other cyclist over the entire 34 miles. We had been looking forward to riding this trail and we were not disappointed.

Upon arriving at the end of the trail we sought out lunch to refuel before riding back to Mabou. We felt it only right to dine at the Coal Miners Cafe & Lounge as the establishment is Biker Friendly. Good grub, definitely friendly and best of all – a Red Sox pub!

On our way back south we stopped to take in the view at Cabot Links Golf Course, which is adjacent to the trail terminus. We are not golfers but the course is laid out along the ocean and the combination of the course and the ocean view is quite magnificent (that’s for you Dorothy). The course actually sits on top of one of the reclaimed coal mines. Cabot Links is ranked as the 35th best course in the world while its sister course Cabot Cliffs is ranked as the 11th best. One of the people we met while at Marguerite for coffee had played at Cabot Cliffs – Twilight Round – nine holes at $350.00. The photos below are courtesy of Not Your Grandfather’s Mining Industry and Cape Breton University.

After completing our ride back to the trailhead at Mabou Rivers we made the short drive to Marble Hill and spent a relaxing evening watching the sky as the sun set over the Northumberland Straight.

We will pick up the final leg of our journey on Cape Breton as we drive two hours for a much needed consultation with Doctor Luke in Sydney. More on that in our next post.

Be seeing you!

Cape Breton, Anti-clockwise- Sunrise to Sunset

30/07/202419/08/2024 by Maria+Stephen, posted in Camping, Coffee, Travel

After departing the bustle of Halifax we made our way east to tour the island of Cape Breton. We had become quite enamored of the beauty of the island and friendly folks we met along the way, we stayed two weeks before crossing back over the Canso Causeway onto the mainland of Nova Scotia. One of the major tourist draws is a loop auto route around the island known as the Cabot Trail (CT). While we drove the majority of the CT during our stay we spent considerable time poking around on the numerous side roads and back roads that led us to many scenic and uncrowded places.

***View from Cabot Trail, Englishtown, Cape Breton***

The morning after crossing onto the island we met Bill who asked us if we were going to drive the CT. We said sure – he replied that you will miss a lot of the beauty and culture of the island if you just follow the trail. We assured him that we would explore well beyond the trail. In retrospect, it was excellent advice – Bill had grown up on the island and moved away to serve in the military and was back visiting family – some of our best experiences were in little harbors and settlements we happened upon while rambling off the main roads.

After spending our first night camping at Whycocomagh Provincial Park, we drove a few miles along the coast and joined the CT at St. Anns. After a bite at the Lobster Gallery (with a view up St. Anns Harbour- photo above right) we drove up and around the bend to visit the Great Hall of the Clans at the Gaelic College (Colaisdena na Gaidhlig).

We toured the exhibits in the Great Hall and we were also treated to several demonstrations and performances taking place in the hall. There was of course, the obligatory Bagpiper along with a kilt maker. The kilt maker demonstrated with another guest how to properly put on and wear a kilt along with the appropriate accessories – actually quite interesting. We also watched a demonstration of a milling frolic and, finally, some good Cape Breton fiddling. We have included below background on the milling frolic (courtesy of Gaelic.com).

A milling frolic is a social event that was born of necessity, and is carried on today for enjoyment. After wool cloth is woven on a loom, it is necessary to shrink the cloth in order to make it warmer and more watertight. In the Scottish Highlands [in pre-industrial times], cleansing and shrinking the newly-woven cloth was done by hand in local communities. It was a social event of shared labour, made enjoyable by singing songs which maintained the work rhythm, preserved traditions, and encouraged original compositions with jokes about local events and personalities.

Nowadays the real milling is done in factories, but the milling frolic has continued as a social event in Nova Scotia Gaelic communities. This contrasts with Scotland, where you might see a milling frolic performed on a stage or as a historical re-enactment, but not as a social event in the village or church hall. Milling frolics involve special work songs which are known as “milling songs” in Nova Scotia (and “waulking songs” in Scotland). Some milling songs are shared with Gaelic Scotland, but quite a few were indigenously composed in Nova Scotia. There is a good but short collection of these songs on a Memorial University folklore website.

From the college we followed the CT along the breathtaking coast on a day made even more beautiful by blue skies, white puffy clouds and brilliant sunshine. Wow!

We camped for the next four nights at the Broad Cove Campground within the Cape Breton Highlands National Park (CBHNP). The site was on an open field (not great) but we were just a ten minute walk to the spectacular Broad Cove Beach (photos below). The location was also a great base for some nearby hiking and exploring back roads. Most importantly, it was under a ten minute drive to first rate coffee and “brekkie” sandwiches in Ingonish. Hot diggity!

Broad Cove, CBHNP

Periwinkle Cafe, Ingonish (Ingo) – pre and post activity base camp while camping at Broad Cove.

While camping at Broad Cove we hiked at nearby Warren Lake which sits at the base of Broad Cove Mountain. Warren Lake is the largest lake in the park. The trail closely follows the shoreline providing views of the lake from varying perspectives. It was a scenic hike with easy terrain albeit lots of water crossing and muddy patches. No bears or moose spotted during our hike but plenty of waterfowl and birds.

Always in search of the best chowder, we headed to Neils Harbor to sample the best chowder on Cape Breton. Neils Harbour is just off the CT at the beginning of New Haven Road. What a surprise awaited us when we came around the bend – another tiny, picturesque fishing village! Alas, the real surprise was that the Chowder House was not open! Thankfully, salvation was at hand because the ice cream parlour in the base of the nearby lighthouse had just opened for the season.

The settlement at Neils Harbour (pop. 300) has been occupied since the 1700s onward by French and Scottish settlers drawn to the close by and plentiful fishing grounds, as well as the protected cove (photos above). The lighthouse was constructed and began operations in 1899. The lighthouse was automated in 1956 and is still operational today; it is currently owned by the local community development agency. It is a Heritage Lighthouse which means it will be preserved in its current state.

**Lighthouse and Ice Cream Parlour, Neils Harbour**

***Neils Harbour, 1939 (Photo courtesy Nova Scotia Archives)***

After finishing our delicious ice cream and looking around the harbour we decided to push on further up the New Haven Road to explore a bit more. This road led us to White Point Road which runs parallel to the coast and provides wonderful view from a vantage point a couple of hundred feet above the shore. We spotted a bay below and turned down the winding White Point Road which took us down to the harbour.

There is a tiny settlement of houses sitting on the hill just above the harbour. The larger body of water beyond the breakwater is Aspy Bay which has been fished seasonally by Europeans since the 1500s (and before that by the Mi’Kmaq). The permanent population here is estimated at 100 people today. The point that extends out into the ocean is spectacular. We are so glad we spotted this gem!

Our last ramble before breaking camp and heading around the bend onto the Sunset Side of the cape was to Meat Cove (don’t ask – okay we will tell you – the local inhabitants used the beach pictured below to butcher whale and moose carcasses).

***Meat Cove, Cape North, Cape Breton***

Meat Cove is another end of the road settlement at the extreme north of Cape Breton. We would have to say getting there is half the fun with the twisty dirt road scraped out of the mountainside providing fabulous views of the coastline and mountains. And yes, at the very end of it, just like in a dream (only real) is a seafood stand selling delicious seafood chowder and other goodies fresh from the ocean!

After taking in the astounding views and consuming our delicious fish chowder, we backtracked down the road and popped into the tiny fishing village of Bay St. Lawrence. This area is know as the Top of the Island because it is literally as far north as you can go. Longtime locals call the area Down North because rivers and streams here run northerly down from the mountains to the ocean.

The village was settled in the 1850s by Scots and retains its Gaelic heritage to this day. Some of the folks fishing out from this bay are fifth generation and direct descendants of the original Scottish settlers. There is no official census because the village is not officially recognized as a municipality – officially it is just an area within Victoria County. We found one estimate from 2022 which puts the local population at 400 although you could not prove that by us. The Bay Cafe in the community centre was not open so we unfortunately did not get to meet any local folks ( we hear they are very friendly). In fact, we did not see a single sole besides two fishermen cruising by the wharf on their boat (maybe they saw the van coming and took cover).

After our visit to Meat Cove and Cape North we traveled back to Broad Cove for our final night of camping at CBHNP. The following day we traveled the CT up through the highlands and followed the trail along the sunset side of Cape Breton. We are going to wrap up this post here because we have quite a bit more to share about our time on Cape Breton in our next post.

Be seeing you!

Wood Lands Ramble

17/07/2024 by Maria+Stephen, posted in 4WD Drive, Camping, Hiking, Scenic Drive, Travel

We departed Fredricton with a loose itinerary to find our way north to the remote Mt Carleton Provincial Park using only unpaved roads. We departed the pavement in Ward Settlement a few miles north of Freddy. A search of the records indicate that Robert Ward arrived around 1841 which was too late to have been a loyalist from the American Colonies. We did not identify any members of the Ward clan remaining in the settlement which is now part of the town of Stanley Parrish so there was to be no grand family reunion during this sojourn.

Ward Settlement

Most of the terrain we traveled through on this ramble is privately owned by major forestry concerns; many of the local folks scattered amongst the woodlands make their living in the forestry industry.

We came out of the wood lands onto Route 107 to stop at the convenience store rumored to exist at the junction of Route 107 and Route 105 in the hamlet of Juniper (named for the Juniper bogs in the area). It does exist and it was open but the six local folks hanging about the store (pop. 200) were none to welcoming so we bought a couple of cold drinks and went back into the woods.

Jumiper to Plaster Rock

From Juniper we covered a 32 mile stretch of dirt roads until we reached Plaster Rock. Plaster Rock (pop.1000) is a metropolis based on the size of most of the villages and hamlets we encountered in this part of New Brunswick. Like most of the other villages in the area the economy is centered on forestry and logging. The village sits along side the beautiful Tobique River.

We stopped in Plaster Rock to buy groceries for the next several evenings and to satisfy the Beast’s insatiable desire for diesel fuel (Juniper has no diesel fuel). A nice find occurred while we were driving through town to the grocery. A restaurant – lil’ Pepinos – purveyor of house made pasta, pizza and other Italian dishes in the woods of New Brunswick. You betcha – we pulled right in and ordered a pie. The restaurant did not feel Italian in the least but the pie was pretty dang good. No washing dishes after dinner at the campsite for us tonight!

From lil’ Peppinos we drove 30 miles north (mostly on pavement to a location along the Tobique River in the settlement of Riley Brook (pop. 100). This site is popular with kayakers and has campsites and firewood. All in all it was a good day on the road.

***Tobique River*** ***(Photo courtesy of Steve Rogers)***

The next morning we set out north on Route 385 to camp and hike at Mt. Carleton Provincial Park (MCPP). The road is narrow, winding and hilly and we began to see mountain peaks in the distance. The peaks we were seeing were actually the northern portion of the ancient Appalachian Mountain Range which extends in to Canada.

MCPP is very remote with dirt roads, primitive camping, no cell or wifi and a very dark night sky (just the way we like it). MCPP is a designated Dark Sky Park. Additionally, because of its remote location there are very few people visiting or camping in the park – uncrowded hiking trails make for an entirely different experience.

***Pine Point Trail, Bathurst Lake, Mt. Carleton Provincial Park***

***Wiliams Falls, Mt. Carleton Provincial Park***

There are eleven designated hiking trails within the 42,000 acres of pristine forest and lakes inside the park boundaries. Four of the trails reach summit peaks. Mt. Carleton, at 2690 feet, is the highest peak in the Maritime Provinces. We did not tackle any of the summit trails on this visit due to the combination of warm temperatures and trail ratings – next time!

That is it on our wood lands ramble in Northern New Brunswick. From a post standpoint we are going to circle back and report next on our time on Prince Edward Island.

Be seeing you!

The Cornhusker State: Blown Fuses, Hump Yards, Emigrants and Buffalo Bill: Part One

25/09/202326/09/2023 by Maria+Stephen, posted in Camping, Coffee, Dining, Scenic Drive, Sportsmobile, The American West, Travel, van life

When we arrived at our campsite near Sterling, Colorado in the northeast corner of the state, we discovered that our AGM batteries were not fully charged. A quick check of the various fuses led us to the 300 amp fuse that sits between the second alternator and our four AGM batteries. The fuse and the fuse block were fried! Without the second alternator to charge the batteries our off grid capacity is limited. Therefore, our first order of business as we began our trek across Nebraska was to find a shop to replace the block and fuse.

The closest RV shop to our east was located in North Platte. We were planning on stopping in North Platte to visit a couple of attractions, so we set sail for North Platte on Route 30, also known as the Lincoln Highway. Route 30 is a coast to coast two lane U.S. highway. It is the third longest U.S. highway and was the first coast to coast highway.

The 30 through Nebraska is also quite notable in that it roughly follows the Oregon Trail along the north side of the Platte River. This section of the Oregon Trail along the river made for relatively easy travel and navigation for the emigrant pioneers due to the flat terrain and east-west course of the river. In the early years of the westward migration, the Nebraska plains provided plenty of food with literally thousands of bison roaming the western grasslands. The history of the Oregon Trail and the people who made or attempted to make the journey is quite fascinating and provides great insight into the culture in the U.S. in the years before and directly after the Civil War. Much of the western movement of people was driven by the desire to escape poverty and religious persecution in the East. Some things never change apparently.

We highly recommend two books about the Oregon Trail. The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey by Rinker Buck chronicles his journey across the Oregon trail by covered wagon in 2011. The second book is The Oregon Trail by Francis Parkman Jr. Parkman made the journey in 1846 and this book provides great insight into the dangers of the journey and is also reflective of the prevailing attitudes of the time (particularly racism).

We pulled into Larry’s RV hoping that Larry would be willing to take a look at the Beast. Larry waved us right into one the garage bays and directed a mechanic to take a gander under the hood. Larry is very committed to assisting travelers far from home that drop into the shop in need of help, sometimes to the chagrin of his mechanics. Larry and his wife Joyce have been fixing mobile homes and RVs since 1956!

The problem was indeed the 300 amp fuse, and, unfortunately there were no 300 amp fuses to be had in town. Larry promised to have a fuse for us the next morning. Our mechanic, John, made the vehicle safe and we set off to explore the town, find some grub and ultimately a place to park the Beast and bed down for the night.

In the morning we went downtown in hope of finding good coffee and tea. We have to admit that we were not expecting a legitimate specialty coffee establishment in the Central Nebraska plains. Good news — we were wrong! The Espresso Shop in downtown North Platte was a delight and put us in good stead for the remainder of the day. http://www.theespressoshopbycaravan.com

We were fortunate enough to meet the owner of the shop – Brandon Raby (in photo above with dog). Brandon moved the shop to its current location several years ago and has created a community around “coffee culture, music and food”. We knew were onto something special when we entered the cafe to the jazz of Jean “Django” Reinhardt playing on the sound system. In addition to his culinary talents, Brandon is an accomplished jazz guitarist. The shop hosts musicians several nights each month. The link below will take you to an excellent article about Reinhardt. https://www.npr.org/2010/01/22/122865782/django-reinhardt-100-years-of-hot-jazz

***Bailey Yard, Union Pacific Railroad, North Platte, Nebraska***

The Union Pacific Railroad operates the world’s largest rail yard in North Platte. This rail yard stretches for eight miles and handles 14,000 freight cars every day while sorting approximately 3,000 of those in the eastbound and westbound hump yards. The locomotive repair shop (photo below, bottom left) repairs 750 locomotives per month. One-Spot tracks are where rail cars are repaired at the yard. The facility repairs about 20 cars per day and replaces 10,000 pairs of rail wheels annually. This yard never closes!

The hump yards are raised earth humps (34ft) utilizing gravity to sort cars to the correct outbound train. The hump yards can sort four cars per minute. We watched freight cars rolling down the humps from our vantage point in the Golden Spike Tower 100 feet above the yard. It is actually a lot cooler than it sounds – you will need to trust us on this one!

The tower is owned and operated by a private nonprofit organization based in North Platte. The Union Pacific viewing platform was falling into disrepair and community leaders wanted to make sure that the many train enthusiasts who come to North Platte to see the Bailey Yard would keep on coming.

As the thrill of watching thousands of freight cars and locomotives being shuttled back and forth eventually began to diminish, we moved on to visit the Scout’s Rest Ranch. The ranch and the “Second Empire” style home were once the property of William “Buffalo Bill” Cody. The local folks nicknamed the house “The Mansion on the Prairie” as it was by far the largest house in the area when constructed in 1886.

***Second Empire Home, William F. Cody, Scouts Rest Ranch, North Platte, Nebraska***

Cody was born in Iowa in 1846 and moved to Kansas with his family in 1853. At that time Kansas was at the heart of deadly violence between pro and antislavery settlers. This period of violence is referred to as Bleeding Kansas, and is considered to be a precursor to the Civil War. Cody’s father, Isaac was stabbed while making an antislavery speech and died three years later from his injuries.

As a result, Cody began working at the age of nine to help support his family. His first job was working for a freighting company. By the time he was 14 he was riding for the Pony Express. Cody was an superb horseman and after his tours for the Pony Express he worked as cowboy on cattle drives. It was on one of the cattle drives that Cody became famous as an Indian fighter after he killed a Native American that was part of a band that attacked the drive. Cody also met Wild Bill Hickok at this time as Hickok was a cowhand on the same drive.

Cody served as a scout during the Civil War; from 1861 to 1863 he was assisting the Union Army in their attempts to destroy the Kiowa and Comanche tribes. In 1863 Cody joined the Seventh Kansas Cavalry which served in Tennessee and Missouri. After the war he continued to scout for the U.S. Army for several years before signing on with the Union Pacific Railroad to hunt bison to feed railroad crews. He is credited with personally killing over 4000 bison!

Cody continued to scout for the Army for many years throughou the summer. He capitalized on his fame as an Indian fighter to create a touring Wild West show during the remainder of the year starting in 1883. He especially used his famous scalping of Cheyenne warrior Yellow Hair by re-enacting the event during his shows. The scalping was reported to have been in retribution for the rout of Custer and his troops at Little Big Horn. The show toured the USA and Europe and featured other Western celebrities including Chief Sitting Bull and Annie Oakley. Queen Victoria is reported to have been a big fan as she attended three performances while the show was in London (each performance was approximately four hours in length).

Cody continued to perform in his show until 1916 when he was 71 years old. He unfortunately needed to continue to perform as he had lost much of the fortune he had made from the show due to some horrible investments (including a non-performing gold mine). He died the following year in Denver.

After a day of trains and history we were ready for a sit down dinner before heading out to our campsite (no fires due to dry conditions). We had been pleasantly surprised to find an excellent specialty coffee shop in town and were just as pleasantly surprised to find The Cedar Room Restaurant and Cocktail Lounge in downtown North Platte.

***Cedar Room, North Platte, Nebraska***

The restaurant was founded in 2020 by friends BJ Stenger and Hector Ortiz. Both Stenger and Ortiz have university degrees in Agribusiness. They met after Ortiz moved from the West Coast to North Platte. Stenger is from the area having grown up on the family cattle ranch located in Box Elder Canyon. They decided to partner and open a fine dining restaurant with an American Fusion menu, which would be the first of it’s kind in North Platte or anywhere within hundreds of miles. The restaurant was Travel Awaits Magazine Best Steakhouse of 2022.

***Stenger Ranch, Box Elder Canyon, Nebraska*** *(Photo courtesy of The Cedar Room)*

We were able to camp just outside town along the North Platte River at Buffalo Bill State Historic Park. We took a walk along the trail on the historic river utilized by the pioneers over 150 years ago. Then we took refuge in the Beast due to forest fire smoke sweeping across the Nebraska plains that evening.

In the morning we resumed our journey east on the historic US Route 30 (with our new 300 amp fuse) to visit the Nebraska capital of Lincoln and the big city on the river – Omaha.

Be seeing you! OTR 9.0 May 2023

Texarkana to Marathon: Howdy Y’all

21/08/2023 by Maria+Stephen, posted in 4WD Drive, Biking, Camping, Coffee, Dining, Hiking, Texas, The American West, Travel

Our first stop in Texas was the town of Texarkana (TXK), a twin city with Texarkana, Arkansas. TXK sits on the western side of the Texas/Arkansas border. Our purpose in stopping off in TXK was to purchase a new tire for Maria’s bike as she had suffered a tire destroying flat on our previous ride in Little Rock.

We had not planned on stopping in TXK and therefore knew little about the town other than its twin city status. When we entered the downtown area to access the bike shop we were caught off guard at how run down the town appeared. The streets were largely deserted and many of the buildings were dilapidated and vacant.

A quick online inquiry revealed that TXK has one of the highest crime rates in the U.S. and a poverty rate of 25%. As another indication of the problems the town is experiencing we found that while the bike shop was open for business, the entrance door is locked at all times and customers are only admitted after stating your business. When we brought Maria’s bike in for repair we could not help but notice that all of the shop’s inventory of bikes were chained together!

This is one of the few towns where we really felt uncomfortable and decided not to poke around other than taking some photos of street art we had passed on the way into town.

In lieu of burgers, we found a bbq joint about thirty miles south of TXK in Atlanta, Texas. The Texas BBQ was very rustic, but we would have to say the bbq was pretty dang tasty!

Atlanta, Texas was named after the city in Georgia as a number of the settlers arriving in 1871 were from the city of Atlanta, Georgia. The arrival of the Texas and Pacific Railroad in the same year was a boon to the area’s main economic activity – timber (the piney woods of East Texas) as it allowed the efficient transport of lumber. The town also benefited from the discovery of oil in 1935, which greatly helped the town survive the Great Depression.

About two hours south of Atlanta sits the town of Nacogdoches. The town is considered to be the oldest town in Texas – having by founded by the Spanish in 1779. What is now the town was a Caddo Indian Settlement from approximately 800 A.D. until the early 1700s when the Spanish arrived and began building missions, displacing the Caddo.

While Nacogdoches is considered the oldest town in Texas, the bigger claim to fame is The Battle of Nacogdoches which started in 1835 and was a precursor to the Texas Revolution. At this point in history, Texas was part of Mexico, although there were many settlers from the United States residing there in addition to the Tejanos. One of the major issues the U.S. settlers had with Mexico was over slavery. Mexico abolished slavery in 1829 and the U.S. settlers were dependent on slavery for their economic prosperity. Eventually, Texas seceded from Mexico (Remember the Alamo!) and was an independent republic for just under ten years. Texas was admitted as a state in 1845.

Today, Nacogdoches is an attractive town with a well preserved downtown brimming with mercantile establishments and red brick streets. The economy that once depended heavily on cotton, timber and tobacco now is centered around the Stephen F. Austin State University which brings 12,000 students to the town.

Always looking for bike trails and with several days until our camping reservation at Mustang Island SP, we detoured slightly inland to the town of Spring, which is located just north of metro Houston. The area is densely populated and covered with the usual urban/suburban sprawl that we tend to avoid. However, the trail looked interesting, and it is billed as the longest urban forested greenway in the United States. We are really glad we opted to check it out. It was a lush oasis in the middle of a crowded metro area.

After spending two days cycling on the greenway we departed Spring for Mustang Island SP (MISP) which is located a short distance from Corpus Christi. This was our first stay at the Texas shore. The camping spots were just off the beach behind the dunes and as an added bonus the beaches in this area allow vehicles to drive on the beach!

We stayed three days at MISP. We divided our time between bicycling along the shore road, walking and driving on the beach and, of course, drinking coffee and tea at Island Joe’s Coffee and Gallery (made from containers – see photos below). All in all, a good first experience at the Texas shore – our only complaint being the windy nights which curtailed sitting by the campfire.

Our next destination on the Texas State Park portion of OTR 9.0 was Garner State Park (GSP). GSP is located in the Hill Country west of San Antonio. Therefore, we felt compelled to pop into San Antonio to check out Estate Coffee Company. Estate is a small batch roaster with a minimalist espresso bar and cafe in downtown. Estate was excellent and the stop gave us a nicely timed break on the four hour drive to GSP.

The Frio River (Rio Frio) runs through GSP and provides about three miles of river access within the park. This was most fortunate for us as the weather in Hill Country was a matching set of 85s – temperature and humidity! We had luckily secured a campsite directly above the river and we were able to access the river via a five minute walk. We spent much of our two days at GSP sitting or wading in the river. P.S. While there was a feral hog alert in effect we fortunately did not encounter any of the beasts during our stay!

Seminole Canyon SP & Historic Site (SCSP) was the next stop on our journey west across South Texas. SCSP opened to the public as a state park in 1980. The land that now encompasses the park was privately owned until the late 1970s. The state purchased the land to protect and preserve more than 200 pictographs located in the canyon and caves, which date back 7000 years.

***Seminole Canyon, Nine Miles West of Comstock, Tex***as

We hiked the Canyon Rim Trail which provided spectacular views of the Seminole and Presa Canyons. The rim trail leads to the park’s southern boundary at the Rio Grande River with Mexico directly beyond.

We also broke out the bicycles for some dirt riding on the Rio Grande Trail. While one of us had a minor crash (see video below) our early evening ride was lots of fun and provided beautiful views of the Rio Grande and Mexico!

Our final stop before heading to Big Bend NP (see our post Three Nights in the Backcountry) was the town of Marathon (pronounced Marathen). We made a brief stop in Marathon in March 2020 en route back to Connecticut during our pandemic-shortened trip. As with the majority of towns we traveled through on our way home, Marathon was locked down tight. With a population of just 365 it was deserted for all intents and purposes. We made a note to return on a future trip to stay at the charming Gage Hotel and check out the town.

Marathon is a straight shot west from SCSP on State Route 90. We had traveled SR90 on our 2020 trip and recalled that significant sections were not attractive, There was a fair amount of truck traffic hauling oil from the fields along 90 and a lot of Border Patrol activity. We decided to attempt to wend our way through the maze of ranch roads using our DeLorme Atlas. We also figured that we could use the east-west Union Pacific Rail Line as a rough guide. We made good progress but eventually ran into a locked gate and after considering our options decided to backtrack until we could intersect with the 90 and finish the trip on the highway. A fun adventure nonetheless!

Ranch Road Adventure

One of the items you will become accustomed to seeing (not necessarily appreciating) driving through (and camping) farm and cattle country is the carcass pit. The carcass pit is just what it sounds like – when farm and ranch animals die (for whatever reason) they are hauled to holes that have been dug at various locations on the property and thrown into the pit to decompose.

You might go right by a pit while rumbling down a dirt road if you didn’t know that ranchers often use a skull as sign post (see photo below). In theory carcass pits need to follow state approved methods to avoid contaminating water as well as discouraging scavengers from dragging contaminated carcasses from the pit. While there are groups trying to end the practice I do not foresee that happening anytime soon – livestock mortality is a fact of life on ranches and farms.

In a future post we will share our experiences and thoughts on two cool towns in Far West Texas – Marathon and Alpine. We hope you found this post interesting and informative.